Wake Up Loverboy!
by Justanothersinger
Summary: 'Why is it that whenever we meet, it's the dead of night, you're shirtless and I'm sleepy' Chrom doesn't know, but he does know that he could get used to this. Sequel to Wake-Up Call. Chrom/M!Robin modern AU
1. Apparently he looks good in tights

Wake up Loverboy!

Chapter 1: Apparently, he looks good in tights.

"So you didn't fuck?"

Gaius asks this question quite suddenly and Chrom actually spits out his beer.

"W-what?!"

"You and Bubbles." Gaius asks, snickering a bit at Chrom's reaction, "You guys didn't fuck yet?"  
"'Bubbles'? Oh you mean Robin." Is what Chrom says before he turns as red as a tomato, "Wha-you mean Robin?! Of course we didn't!"

"Awww."

"W-why do you sound so disappointed...and why would you even think that, anyway?!"

"He was making you pancakes!"

"So what, that automatically means we had sex?!"

"He was making you pancakes while the both of you were as good as naked." Gaius clarifies.

"I told you that was a misunderstanding!"

"The misunderstanding where you broke into his house, thinking it was mine?"

Chrom opens his mouth to answer, but shuts it again as he considers those words.

"I think you're rubbing off on me." He mutters finally.

"That's good. Gods know that you need to loosen up a bit. And like I was saying, Robin never makes pancakes for anyone. Underwear or no underwear."

"I'm...going to ignore the underwear bit", Chrom says resolutely, "But why doesn't he?"  
"It's a thing of his. Don't know the details, but apparently he doesn't step into the kitchen unless he absolutely needs too. Which is why I picked his lock and barged in; you know I don't usually do that."

"Uh, right."

"And then I find out that he's making them for you, a guy he barely even knows." Gaius tilts his head back up at him and squints at him, "The way I'm saying it, it doesn't sound like a big deal. But it is. A huge deal. Hope you enjoyed those pancakes, because you probably won't be getting them for the rest of this year. If at all."

"Why's...that?"

"Like I said, I dunno. He gets really upset if you confront him about it though. It's actually kinda worrying, specially considering the way he ended up here."

"The way he ended up here?"

"Let's just say it was like a B-grade horror movie. Blood and popcorn everywhere." Gaius shuddered, "Ugh."

"Somehow, that summary sounds even more worrying than the actual story."

"I'll tell you the rest later. When I'm not suffering sugar withdrawal. Which is all your fault."

"And I'm telling you Cordelia explicitly told me not to get you more sweets. Don't blame me."

"Now that I think about it, it's a reeeeeaaaaalllly wild story. I had no idea you could even use a knife for that sort of thing."

"Is that so. Well, now you do." Chrom says simply.

"Aren't you curious?"

"Huh?"

"I've known you long enough to know that you-"Gaius pauses here, squinting at him.

Then suddenly he smirks.

"...Hoh. If that's the case, I didn't even need to say anything."

"W-What?" Chrom asks defensively. The other man just waves him off and downs the rest of his beer. Licking his lips like the cat that swallowed the canary.

"Nothing, nothing."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Apparently, Robin attends the night classes at Chrom's college.

Chrom was not aware of this. Understandably so, seeing as he's usually the one who starts trudging back to his house as soon as the bell rings to catch up on much-needed sleep. Wouldn't do to have him trudging around the court like a zombie during evening practice after all.  
And he would have remained blissfully unaware of this fact if Lissa and Emm hadn't begged him to stay behind and help out with their play.

Which entailed him filling in for the guy playing the prince; a ridiculous, cravat-wearing prat that basically ran and hid when his enemies attacked and shot at men armed to the teeth with armour with a flimsy bow.  
...This was definitely revenge for that time he'd accidentally threw a beehive into Lissa's room.

So while he was doing that infamous bow scene, one of the actors had clambered up the rope and leapt over the balcony right into the main stage area. And shoved a sword right in his face.

This was the part where the prince started grovelling, as he usually did, but Chrom was a bit too occupied with the fact that he recognized the face of his 'attacker'.

"Robin?"

"Chrom?" Robin asks, echoing his confused tone. From the way he was dressed, he seemed to be the Lord that corners the Duke in the play.

The Lord whose clothing choices Emmeryn and Lissa had debated over before eventually settling on a style that honestly seemed like a rip-off on every emo band and vampire in existence than an actual lord of days long past.  
But apparently, Robin looked quite good fully-clothed in tights, a cloak, an armoured vest and an eyepatch.

 _...Good job , Sis._

"What are you doing here? Where's Virion?" Robin appears to be asking him.

"Lissa and Emm dragged me into practice because he couldn't make it. I'm taking his place." Chrom replies and to his credit , he didn't sound as dazed as he was currently feeling.

"I see. Well then", Before his eyes, Robin's face melded into a confident smirk. He raised the tip of his sword higher. Uh?  
"'We finally meet, O Cowardly Duke of Rosanne." He says, and Chrom supposed that he was trying to make his voice deep and imposing to scare Chrom's character further.  
It kind of had the opposite effect on him.

 _Oh Naga._

"..."

Robin's smirk falls away and he stares at Chrom in mild confusion.

"Line! Liiine!" Chrom hears Lissa hiss.

"It would...seem so." Chrom manages finally. Was that even his line? Hell if he knew.

...Judging by the way Lissa is glaring at him, apparently not.

Robin's rolling with it at least.

The sword tip just barely touches his neck and suddenly Robin's face just a few centimeters away from his.

This was so much harder than it looked like in the movies because where the hell is he supposed to look? Not like he can duck his head now.

And staring at Robin is doing weird things to his gut.

"I had to see for myself what kind of person this Duke was. Despite your cowardice you seemed to have some truly intriguing strategies. Tell me, is this all there is?"

Also, he can't stop staring at Robin.

"All there is?" Chrom asks, still sounding remarkably composed.

"By sunrise, you would be dead either way. Why not make things interesting for us both?"

Robin kicks at something and there's the shing of metal near his hands.

"Fight with me. Prove to me you have a shred of nobility within you."

Ah, common ground. He could do this.

"Somehow, I don't think that's a good idea." There's an edge of confidence in his voice now and to his left, he can hear Lissa sigh in relief.  
"You have nothing to lose, do you not? save for your life, of course." Robin chuckles here. Deep and low, like his words had been.

There's a strange flutter in Chrom's stomach.

Nope, he can't do this.

"...I-I meant that it wasn't a good idea for you."

"Hm?" Robin steps back a bit as Chrom pushes himself to his feet.

His expression is confident. Or at least he thinks it is. It doesn't feel like he looks like he's way out of his depth, at least.

"If it's truly a fight you want, a fight you shall get."

"CUT!" Lissa yells and Chrom blinks. Draws himself back.

When had he gotten that close to Robin? They'd been practically nose-to-nose.

"What was ** _that_**?!" Lissa yells.

 _I have no idea._

"Hey, you didn't tell me someone was going to stick something long and pointy in front of my face!" _Good excuse. Let's go with that._

There was a rather loud noise then, and from the corner of his eye, Chrom sees Robin cover his mouth, clear mirth in his guilty expression.

"Yes, I did! I said we'd go over the scene where The Duke gets caught by the Swordsman of Ferox right?"

"Uh..." Well, technically she had, but Chrom had kind of been occupied by the fact that the stranger who'd seen him hungover and half-naked and apparently been mistaken for a fling of his by his friend was playing the Swordsman. "I...forgot?" He offers lamely.

"Ugh...well, at least we have an idea of how it'd look onstage. And at least Robin's familiar with his lines. Do we need to go over it again?"

"No, I think it's fine. We can practice some other scene today, right?"

"Yeah. Stupid Virion..." Lissa mutters.

"Can I go home now?"

"Yeah sure, whatever." Lissa says, making shooing motions with her hands, "Just say bye to Emm, first. She's busy with the costumes."

"Right, right."

Chrom's shoulders sink and he yawns. All the fatigue from earlier comes rushing back to him and he yawns.

Maybe he should hit the sheets early today...

"Wait!"

"Mmmh?" He looks back to see Robin chase after him.

"H-hey, uhm...thanks for helping us out before."

"Oh." Suddenly, he's feeling much more energized again. "Uh, no problem." It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter, but somehow he'd actually seemed to have some degree of control over his motormouth-this time at least-because he didn't say that out loud.

"I never knew you were in this college. Did you just transfer in here?"

"No, I've been here for about two years."

"Really? I didn't...know. Um, s-sorry about that..."

"No, it's fine! It's understandable, seeing as we're in different class shifts." Chrom says hastily, "I mean, I didn't know you were here either!"

"Yeah but I only just transferred here. About 6 months."

"That's the middle of the semester. Wouldn't you have a hard time catching up with all the stuff in class?"

"Luckily, I'm one of those people who reviews the stuff before it's actually taught. And my last college was a bit further ahead so." Robin shrugs and gives Chrom an easy smile,

"It's not like I'm in any clubs either."

"But aren't you taking part in the play now?"

"Lissa asked me. I'm a forever-loyal member of the 'going home' club. Are you in any clubs?"

"Er, yeah. Football."

"Wow, cool! Er, I hadn't watched the match before, but I heard you guys won! Congratulations!" Robin said, sticking his hand out.

"Thanks."

Robin's hand was warm. Soft.

And...Chrom quickly lets go of it, running his hand through his hair awkwardly. "U-uh. So where are you going now?"

"Like I said, I'm going home. I need to catch up on my sleep."

"Yeah. You look really tired."

"Do I?"

"You have like dark circles around your eyes."

"Oh." Robin touches them lightly, looking mildly embarrassed, "I didn't think they were that obvious."

"T-they're not, don't worry!" Of course, Chrom noticed them because he'd been looking at the boy's face from little to no distance from earlier, "You also seem a little...sluggish I guess."

"Well, I have kind of slept 9 hours in this past week."

"What?! Isn't that way too less? That doesn't seem healthy at all!"

"Considering I've caught a fever twice this month, I think you might be right about that."

"A fever?" Chrom places a hand on Robin's forehead. The other boy flinched a little at that, but Chrom ignored him, "You still feel a little warm. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm mostly recovered so I'm fine." Robin replies.

"Your cheeks look a little red."

"Huh? Oh, uh. It's a bit hot in here so-"

"You shouldn't strain yourself."

"Ah...I'm not. I'm fine."

"If you say so." Chrom doesn't sound convinced, "So uh...yeah."

"Yeah." Robin echoed, "I...have to go now so..."

"O-oh, yeah! Sure." Chrom nods, "See you around then."

"Yeah. See you." Robin says with a smile. And he turns and walks off.

Chrom doesn't even realize that he's staring after him until Robin looks back and their eyes meet. And then he's aware of the awkwardness of the entire situation, but he can't just look away now, can he?...!

Robin looks a bit surprised, but his lips quirk up. Like he's trying not to laugh. And he gives Chrom a small wave.

Chrom then takes it as his cue to awkwardly turn around and dash for the door.

Nailed it.

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	2. Apparently candy can get you places

Wake Up Loverboy!

Chapter 2: Apparently, candy can get you places

"Ah, there he be!" Is the rather loud declaration when Robin walks out onto the balcony, "The err-do-well that has me precious bounty!"

"Working on the accent, I see." Robin says with a smile.

"I gotta. Princess would stick knives in my pillow if I don't sell the part of Captain Hook." Gaius says. He's seated on the ledge of the opposing balcony and yawning, looking dangerously close to falling.

"Eyes up front before you drop off." Robin rattles off, tapping Gaius on the chin so he stayed upright and passing him his coffee, "And we're not doing Peter Pan here, Gaius."

"Look me in the eye and say that I'm not playing the part of a beardless and much more handsome Captain Hook, Bubbles."

Robin snickers, "Yeah, I guess. With both your hands and legs too."

Gaius seems to fall silent then, taking a long sip of his coffee and staring at Robin.

"...Hmm? What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing." Gaius says. For some reason, there's a smirk on his face, "Now. Down to business. Gimme the goods."

"I should really stop buying you these." Robin says with a sigh, but he's already passed the bag of candy over to Gaius, who promptly tears it open.

"Yeah, but think about the devastating impact it'll have on my life. I'll drop out of college, sell off my books and lose myself in the underground market."

"More than you have already?"

"Hey, I've done a few under the table deals. Doesn't mean I'm back in there yet."

Robin sips his coffee. Closes his eyes.

"Rough day?"

"The usual."

"You should skip today's shift."

"I need the money."

"Donny knows you need a day off as much as I do."

"I still don't feel right skipping."

"You probably have an excuse when you look like the dead?"

"That's the second time I've heard that." Robin murmurs, "...Maybe I...should go to bed for at least a little while."

"Really." There's a curious glint in Gaius' eyes now, "...Hey, Bubbles? Did you meet Blue again today?"

"Blue?" Robin blinks, "Oh, you mean Chrom. Yeah, as a matter of fact I did. How did you know?"

"I have my ways." Gaius asks, still smirking, "So, what did you talk about?"

"Mm, just things. Nothing all that important. Why?"

"Nothing much. Just thought you'd hit it off with him right away. I'm right, aren't I?"

"Well..." Robin pauses, "I suppose? He did seem kind of nice."

"Huh. Nice. Interesting."

"...Why are you getting hung up over this?"

"It's just pretty important for me that my two best friends get along. Y'know?" Gaius says seriously.

"Oh...really?" Gaius...never mentioned that he thought of Robin as his best friend. That was...

That felt really nice to hear.

"Yeah. Now go on, get to sleeping."

"I will. Thanks, Gaius."

Once Robin's disappeared back into his flat, Gaius grins and pops the rest of his candy in his mouth.

"Hook, line and sinker. The studious types always went for pretty faces."

"Who's the pretty face?" Gaius almost falls off the ledge. Almost.

A hand grabs his vest at the last minute and he hears Cordelia sigh.

"Would it kill you to stand behind the ledge like a normal person?"

"Pretty sure I almost died there", Gaius points out, "And I know that you and Bubbles have my back so."

"Oh, Robin was out here too?"

"Just missed him. He went off to sleep."

"I worry about him." Cordelia says with a sigh, "He needs his rest."

"You worry about all of us. I do agree with you on the 'getting rest' part." Gaius puts his hand on his chin thoughtfully, "I did come up with a scheme to solve that though."

"...Does this involve the pretty face from earlier?"

"Yup."

"...I can't even argue properly with you now." She says with a yawn, "Just make sure it isn't like the time with Maribelle and the punch."

"I didn't even know she'd show up! Would you ever let that go?"

"Only if you make breakfast today?"

"Fine. I'm not hungry though."

"Are you sure?"

"Mmhm." Gaius says, discreetly tucking the bag of candy in his pocket.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Oh my god you like someone."

There's a distinct thunk in the distance, echoed by another thunk when Chrom drops his mug. Spilling coffee all over his hand, "Ow, _shit!_ "

"Whoa, be careful!" Lissa yells, gingerly setting his cup upright.

"W-what did you say?!"

"Uh. That you like someone?" Lissa asks and when Chrom flinches again, she says, "Oh come on, big brother. You can't be more obvious!"

"What do you mean?!"

"You've been staring off into space for the past hour. And your fork keeps missing your mouth and poking your cheek." Lissa informs him with a giggle, "Classic lovestruck look, by the way."

Emmeryn chooses that moment to walk up to them, piling their plate with more French toast.

"Emm, Emm, Chrom has someone he likes!" Lissa says excitedly and Chrom feels like he's back in elementary again.

"Really?" Emmeryn asks and she smiles at him.

Chrom knows that smile. His cheeks heat up.

"Who's the lucky lady?" Lissa demands, "Do I know her?! Do I need to sic Falchion on her?!"

"Why would you...no! Lissa, if you keep dropping your pet frog on random people, you're gonna lose him." Chrom says, "And I don't...like...anyone."

"Yeah, no. That's a big fat lie and you're horrible at lying." Lissa pouts at him, "Fess up!"

"No, because there's no-one I like."

"Liar! Who is it, tell meeeeeeeeeee!"

"No!"

"Big brother!"

"I said no!"

"Chrom." Emmeryn says simply.

"His name is Robin."

"Wha- that fast?! And...wait." Lissa blinks, "Rob...Robin? As in that...wait a second?!" Lissa bangs her hands on the table and Emmeryn swiftly yanks the teacups from the table before they spill over, "Are you talking about that Robin?! The guy that once slept in the town library because he didn't notice that he was locked in because of closing hours?! The guy who caused our French teacher to quit because he never stopped asking questions that she couldn't answer?! The guy who started Olivia's belly-dancing classes because he walked out on town in a girl's costume?!"

"Wh-when exactly did all _that_ happen?!"

"It wouldn't kill you to stick your head out in the real world sometimes!"

"Tea, Lissa." Emmeryn pushes a cup near the girl, looking at her expectantly. When Lissa picks up the cup, still eyeing her brother, Emmeryn turns to Chrom, "So how long?"

"Huh?"

"How long have you liked him, Chrom?" Emmeryn asks with a smile.

"I...I'm not even sure that I...like him."

Lissa scoffs.

"You haven't stuttered this much since you met Ganga in third grade. And we all know how that turned out."

"Maybe not the best example?" Emmeryn points out.

"I can still hear the laughing..." Chrom groans, collapsing on the table.

"...Y'know, it's not a big deal to me if my brother and my best friend start dating." Lissa says finally, "I don't mind that you're both guys either."

"Lissa-"

"My problem is that it's Robin, Chrom. Robin." Lissa leans back on her chair, "He's been through...a lot. A whole lot of bad things that shouldn't have happened to a nice person like him."

"Bad things?"

There's a lot of things going on with him. And I don't want him getting hurt again." Lissa says, "I mean. You don't even know if you like him, right?"

"Yeah but..."

"Just...hold off on him for now. Ok?" Lissa says.

"Sis..."

"So, apparently the new bakery has the best cinnamon buns! We should try them out sometime!"

That's the end of it, huh?

Chrom somehow didn't think so.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hey Gregor? Do you like someone?"

 ** _Clack!_**

Robin looks up and sees that the older man had dropped his knife and was openly gaping at him.

"What?"

"Gregor...not take drugs from Tharja on accident, right?"

"Huh?"

"Robin say he's in love. Gregor make sure that it not bad dream."

"...What's so strange about me liking someone in that way?" Robin says, carefully emphasising the like part.

"Robin say that he have no time for that nonsense just yesterday." Gregor says pointedly.

"Yeah, but that was because you had that weird dream."

"So, Gregor not Robin's type, eh?"

"Gregor. You and I both know that you're extremely handsome and very charming, so don't pull that on me. And I still don't have time for romance. Can't I be asking because I'm curious?"

"Robin is curious all the time," Gregor says with a sharp look, "Robin the intelligent type. And the intelligent type don't ask things until they need things."

"Humour me."

"...Gregor don't have anyone like that now." Gregor says finally, "But Gregor have met some very beautiful women. And men." He adds with a side-eyed glance towards Robin, "With beautiful people all around, Gregor lose heart many times."

"Has it ever been with someone you've...just met?"

"Yes, but mostly very bad decisions."

"So even you think so."

"It depends on person though. Who Robin fall in love with?"

"It's not love. It's too early for that."

"So, Robin _want_ to fall in love with person?"

"I'm just saying that it's too early for that. I barely know him. Sure he seems nice and all but..."

"Is he good-looking?"

"What?"

"Is he good-looking? He can not be like Gregor but..."

Robin seems to mull this over, "...Yeah. Yeah, he is. And he's...he acts really cute too."

"Aha! Robin loves this man!"

"What, no I don't, I-"

"Robin never smile like that before. Is lovestruck look, Gregor has seen many times-"

"It's...! That, I do not look _lovestruck_ -!"

"Excuse me...Robin?"

"Huh?" Robin looks up, "Oh! Emmeryn!"

"Good evening!" She says with a smile, "I wanted to to thank you for the other day. For helping me with the groceries, I mean. I wanted to thank you sooner, but I couldn't find you."

"Robin has thing of blending in." Gregor says pointedly, offering a hand to shake. When Emmeryn does so, he continues, "Gregor keep telling him that sometimes he need to stand out."

"And I keep telling you, attention's a bad thing where I'm concerned." Robin murmurs quietly. To Emmeryn, he continues, "How are Lissa and Chrom doing?"

"Oh, both of them are fine! Chrom actually was with me up till just now. He mentioned you at breakfast today."

"R-really? What did he say?"

"He admired your acting ability. Well, I saw that for myself. You make quite an excellent Lord of times past."

"O-oh. Tell him thanks from me!"

"Hrmph." Is Gregor's input, but he doesn't say anything else.

Robin's then aware that he's grinning like a fool and composes himself before Emmeryn asks, "You know Gaius as well right?"

"Yeah, he's a good friend. My next-door neighbour. Why?"

"Wait. Your brother with Gaius right now?" Gregor curses.

"Huh? Gregor?"

"Tonight bad night to have meeting, pretty lady. Chrom in big trouble."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hey, Gaius?"

"Mm?"

"Do you like someone?"

 ** _Clatter!_**

"H-hey, don't drop your lockpick!"

"S-sorry. I-I think...did you spike my soda with something earlier? I told you I can't drink before I do this!"

"No!" Chrom looks back towards the corner and whispers, "I just asked if you had anyone you liked, what's with that reaction?!"

"Well, because it's you asking." Gaius flutters his hand over to Chrom, like he was insinuating something, "You, the infamously-dense Prince of Shepherds."

"...What's with that nickname?"

"Catchy isn't it? Princess loved it. And it describes you to a T so it was popular with the masses."

"...Masses?"

"You get girls thrown at you on a daily basis and don't make one move. It's not even an issue of being a gentleman or anything; you honestly don't realise." There's a satisfying click then and Gaius grins as he sneaks inside, "Keep lookout, princey boy."

"That's..." It was true that Lissa said he was dense in those matters but that was Lissa. He wasn't that bad right?

He wasn't all that dense that the answer would be in his face and he wouldn't realise...right?

"Blue!"

"Wh-what?!"

Too late, Chrom notices the flashlight in the distance.

The man yells something, he doesn't really hear. It's not for long because Gaius yanks him back and they're running down a corridor.

More yelling. Chrom yanks his hood up, heart pounding in his ears.

Suddenly, a fork in the path. Gaius isn't with him anymore.

The guard is still chasing him.

How long had he been running?

He trips on something and falls, his mind a mess of foul curses.

 _I'm gonna get caught...!_

He hides his face. Almost doesn't see the blur behind the guard.

There's the unmistakeable sound of something hitting flesh and the guard falls. He's...knocked out.

His attacker kneels before Chrom.

Was Chrom that far gone already? The face of the person before him was..."Robin?"

"Hey." Robin says and the way he's smiling makes Chrom's heart skip a beat. Or dozen. It was Robin but why was he...

"Isn't that the costume from the play?"

"I had to wear this so they won't recognise me." Robin says as he helped Chrom up, "Come on. We'll go get Gaius and get out of here."

"But..."

"Gregor told us today wasn't a good night to steal question papers. Emmeryn already told me that you said you'd spent a night at a friend's house...and Gaius most probably won't back till sunrise because he told Cordelia so..." Robin pauses, scratches his cheek.

Even in the dim moonlight, there's an unmistakeable blush on his face.

"...I-If you want you can...stay with me till things blow over?"

What was with this strange turn of events.

What was with that offer.

This was all happening too fast. Hell, Chrom only knew him for about a couple of days, he didn't even know him that well.

But...

"Thank you." Chrom says and he swears he feels a tiny squeeze of the hand that's taken his.

And as they walk, Robin gives him the sweetest smile he's ever seen.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x


End file.
